If a person living in Thailand was to sit back and wonder what life would be like if Thaksin ever got back in power, all they need do is read today’s news. There are indications out there, and all you need do is connect the dots to see them.
Starting with the basics, both the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) and the red shirts are on Thaksin’s team. The PTP serve up the papers and other legal attacks on Thaksin’s enemies, and the red shirts serve up the physical violence. Both are synonymous with how Thaksin acted when he was still Prime Minister, and apparently still the norm today. Also the fact that Thaksin shows no respect for any law of any country especially Thailand, there will be nothing to stop him from doing as he wishes if he comes back to power.
Seeing that when Thaksin was in power anyone who challenged his supreme authority were greeted with a lawsuit personally delivered to the court by his lawyer Nopadon Patama. Nopadon’s visits to the court for Thaksin were so frequent, they may have even given him his own private window at the court clerk’s office.
On the physical assault front, Thaksin had hired thugs as well as the Forestry Service as his own private army. Beating up on old men and young children were routine when groups like the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) challenged him. The images of Thaksin’s thugs beating up on people as the police looked on are still very vivid in the minds of many people.
When a government official who is viewed by Thaksin as an enemy heads into pro Thaksin country of the north or northeast they are physically assaulted. There is little doubt that severe bodily harm or death would be the result if there was no intervention. If Thaksin gets back in power rest assured there will be no intervention, and all of Thailand not only the north and north east would be hunting grounds for Thaksin’s enemies. Not even the sanctuary of a temple would stop this hunt.
As for how outside companies and countries would view Thailand, Most certainly there would be travel advisories based on the lawless behavior similar to other countries that now have lawlessness. Companies would be very hesitant of exposing their employees as well as the financial risks, thus deciding that elsewhere is better than Thailand. Burma would be a good example of what to expect in Thailand as dictators tend to think alike.
So it does not take imagination to see what Thailand would be like if Thaksin managed to force his way back to power. Besides the fact he has a 2 year jail sentence to serve, and that he is banned from politics until June 2012, those will be ignored and the people who dared to impose them would most certainly disappear one way or another. The dots are there hidden in plain sight, all you need do is look. In this case it does not require any imagination.
